Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 104425 

did not challenge the proposed penalty, 

or the amount of tax to which the 

proposed penalty is attributable. 

Therefore, the penalty was 

automatically calculated through 

electronic means and written 

supervisory approval was not required. 

(f) Applicability date. The rules of this 

section apply to penalties assessed on or 

after December 23, 2024. 

Douglas W. O’Donnell, 

Deputy Commissioner. 

Approved: December 2, 2024. 

Aviva R. Aron-Dine, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury 

(Tax Policy). 

[FR Doc. 2024–29074 Filed 12–20–24; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4830–01–P 

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY 

CORPORATION 

29 CFR Part 4044 

Allocation of Assets in SingleEmployer Plans; Interest Assumptions 

for Valuing Benefits 

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule amends the 

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s 

regulation on Allocation of Assets in 

Single-Employer Plans to prescribe the 

spreads component of the interest 

assumption under the asset allocation 

regulation for plans with valuation dates 

of January 31, 2025–April 29, 2025. 

These interest assumptions are used for 

valuing benefits under terminating 

single-employer plans and for other 

purposes. 

DATES: Effective January 31, 2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Monica O’Donnell (odonnell.monica@

pbgc.gov), Attorney, Office of the 

General Counsel, Pension Benefit 

Guaranty Corporation, 445 12th Street 

SW, Washington, DC 20024–2101, 202– 

229–8706. If you are deaf or hard of 

hearing, or have a speech disability, 

please dial 7–1–1 to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PBGC’s 

regulation on Allocation of Assets in 

Single-Employer Plans (29 CFR part 

4044) prescribes actuarial 

assumptions—including an interest 

assumption—for valuing benefits under 

terminating single-employer plans 

covered by title IV of the Employee 

etirement Income Security Act of 1974 

(ERISA). The interest assumption is also 

posted on PBGC’s website 

(www.pbgc.gov). 

PBGC uses the interest assumption in 

§ 4044.54 to determine the present value 

of annuities in an involuntary or 

distress termination of a singleemployer plan under the asset 

allocation regulation. The assumptions 

in part 4044 of PBGC’s regulations are 

also used in other situations where it is 

appropriate for liabilities to align with 

private sector group annuity prices. For 

example, PBGC’s regulations on Notice, 

Collection, and Redetermination of 

Withdrawal Liability (29 CFR part 4219) 

and Duties of Plan Sponsor Following 

Mass Withdrawal (29 CFR part 4281) 

provide that these assumptions are used 

to value liabilities for purposes of 

determining withdrawn employers’ 

reallocation liability in the event of a 

mass withdrawal from a multiemployer 

plan. Multiemployer plans that receive 

special financial assistance under the 

regulation on Special Financial 

Assistance by PBGC (29 CFR part 4262) 

must, as a condition of receiving special 

financial assistance, use the interest 

assumption to determine withdrawal 

liability for a prescribed period. 

Additionally, plan sponsors are required 

to use some, or all of these assumptions 

for specified purposes (e.g., reporting 

benefit liabilities in filings required 

under PBGC’s regulation on Annual 

Financial and Actuarial Information 

Reporting (29 CFR part 4010) or 

determining certain amounts to transfer 

to PBGC’s Missing Participants Program 

on behalf of a missing participant of a 

terminating defined benefit plan under 

PBGC’s regulation on Missing 

Participants (29 CFR part 4050)) and 

may use them for other purposes (e.g., 

to ensure that plan spinoffs comply with 

section 414(l) of the Internal Revenue 

Code (the Code)). 

On June 6, 2024, PBGC issued a final 

rule at 89 FR 48291 that changes the 

structure of the interest assumption for 

valuation dates on or after July 31, 2024, 

from the select and ultimate approach to 

a yield curve approach. As described in 

the June 6 final rule, this ‘‘4044 yield 

curve,’’ is based on a blend of two 

publicly available bond yield curves 

that is adjusted to the extent necessary 

so that the resulting liabilities align with 

group annuity prices. The adjustments 

are referred to as ‘‘spreads.’’ PBGC 

determines and publishes spreads 

quarterly based on survey data on 

pricing of private-sector group 

annuities. As noted in the preamble to 

the June 6 rule, PBGC will post the 4044 

yield curve on its website at 

www.pbgc.gov each month shortly after 

its underlying data become available. In 

addition, practitioners are able to 

determine the 4044 yield curve as of the 

end of any month using the publicly 

available bond yield curves and the 

spreads specified in the regulation. 

This rule amends the regulation to 

specify the spreads used to determine 

the 4044 yield curve as of the last days 

of January, February, and March of 

2025, (i.e., the ‘‘first quarter 2025 

spreads’’). 

Need for Immediate Guidance 

PBGC has determined that notice of, 

and public comment on, this rule are 

impracticable, unnecessary, and 

contrary to the public interest. PBGC 

routinely updates the spreads 

component of the interest assumption in 

the asset allocation regulation so that 

the 4044 yield curve may be determined 

as soon as the underlying bond yield 

curves become available. These 

amendments are merely technical; they 

ensure that use of PBGC’s interest 

assumption continues to yield liabilities 

in line with group annuity prices. 

Accordingly, PBGC finds that the public 

interest is best served by issuing this 

rule expeditiously, without an 

opportunity for notice and comment, 

and that good cause exists for making 

the assumptions set forth in this 

amendment effective less than 30 days 

after publication. 

PBGC has determined that this action 

is not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ 

under the criteria set forth in Executive 

Order 12866. 

Because no general notice of proposed 

rulemaking is required for this 

amendment, the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act of 1980 does not apply. See 5 U.S.C. 

601(2). 

List of Subjects in 29 CFR Part 4044 

Employee benefit plans, Pension 

insurance, Pensions. 

In consideration of the foregoing, 29 

CFR part 4044 is amended as follows: 

PART 4044—ALLOCATION OF 

ASSETS IN SINGLE-EMPLOYER 

PLANS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 4044 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 29 U.S.C. 1301(a), 1302(b)(3), 

1341, 1344, 1362. 

■ 2. In § 4044.54, revise table 1 to 

paragraph (e) to read as follows: 

§ 4044.54 Interest assumptions. 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 


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104426 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (e)—SPREADS

Maturity point 

Third quarter 

2024 spreads 

(percent) 

Fourth quarter 

2024 spreads 

(percent) 

First quarter 

2025 spreads 

(percent) 

0.5 .............................................................................................................................. 0.38 0.33 0.36 

1.0 .............................................................................................................................. 0.38 0.33 0.36 

1.5 .............................................................................................................................. 0.37 0.33 0.36 

2.0 .............................................................................................................................. 0.37 0.33 0.36 

2.5 .............................................................................................................................. 0.37 0.33 0.36 

3.0 .............................................................................................................................. 0.37 0.33 0.36 

3.5 .............................................................................................................................. 0.37 0.33 0.36 

4.0 .............................................................................................................................. 0.37 0.33 0.36 

4.5 .............................................................................................................................. 0.37 0.33 0.36 

5.0 .............................................................................................................................. 0.37 0.33 0.36 

5.5 .............................................................................................................................. 0.37 0.32 0.35 

6.0 .............................................................................................................................. 0.37 0.32 0.35 

6.5 .............................................................................................................................. 0.37 0.32 0.35 

7.0 .............................................................................................................................. 0.37 0.32 0.35 

7.5 .............................................................................................................................. 0.37 0.32 0.35 

8.0 .............................................................................................................................. 0.37 0.32 0.35 

8.5 .............................................................................................................................. 0.37 0.32 0.34 

9.0 .............................................................................................................................. 0.37 0.32 0.34 

9.5 .............................................................................................................................. 0.36 0.32 0.34 

10.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.36 0.32 0.34 

10.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.36 0.32 0.33 

11.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.36 0.32 0.33 

11.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.36 0.32 0.33 

12.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.36 0.32 0.33 

12.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.36 0.32 0.32 

13.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.36 0.32 0.32 

13.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.35 0.31 0.32 

14.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.35 0.31 0.32 

14.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.35 0.31 0.31 

15.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.35 0.31 0.31 

15.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.35 0.31 0.30 

16.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.35 0.31 0.30 

16.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.34 0.31 0.30 

17.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.34 0.31 0.30 

17.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.34 0.31 0.29 

18.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.34 0.31 0.29 

18.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.34 0.31 0.29 

19.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.34 0.31 0.29 

19.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.34 0.30 0.28 

20.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.34 0.30 0.28 

20.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.33 0.30 0.28 

21.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.33 0.30 0.28 

21.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.33 0.30 0.27 

22.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.33 0.30 0.27 

22.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.33 0.30 0.27 

23.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.33 0.30 0.27 

23.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.33 0.30 0.26 

24.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.33 0.30 0.26 

24.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.33 0.30 0.26 

25.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.33 0.30 0.26 

25.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.33 0.30 0.26 

26.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.33 0.30 0.26 

26.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.32 0.30 0.26 

27.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.32 0.30 0.26 

27.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.32 0.30 0.25 

28.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.32 0.30 0.25 

28.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.32 0.30 0.25 

29.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.32 0.30 0.25 

29.5 ............................................................................................................................ 0.32 0.30 0.25 

30.0 ............................................................................................................................ 0.32 0.30 0.25 


khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 104427 

Issued in Washington, DC. 

Hilary Duke, 

Assistant General Counsel for Regulatory 

Affairs, Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30459 Filed 12–20–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7709–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

36 CFR Part 7 

[NPS–CHAT–DTS0039013; Docket No. NPS– 

2024–0003; PPSEGUIS00 

PPMPSAS1Z.Y00000] 

RIN 1024–AE80 

Chattahoochee River National 

Recreation Area; Bicycling 

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The National Park Service 

amends the special regulations for 

Chattahoochee River National 

Recreation Area to allow for bicycle use 

on approximately 20.6 miles of trails. 

DATES: This rule is effective January 22, 

2025. 

ADDRESSES: 

Docket: The comments received on 

the proposed rule are available on 

https://www.regulations.gov in Docket 

No. NPS–2024–0003. 

Document Availability: The 

Chattahoochee River National 

Recreation Area Comprehensive Trails 

Management Plan/Environmental 

Assessment (CTMP/EA), Finding of No 

Significant Impact (FONSI), and related 

project documents provide information 

and context for this rulemaking and are 

available online at https://

parkplanning.nps.gov/chat by clicking 

any of the links entitled 

‘‘Comprehensive Trails Management 

Plan’’ and then clicking the link entitled 

‘‘Document List.’’ 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beth 

Wheeler, Chief of Planning, Resources 

and Education, Chattahoochee River 

National Recreation Area; (678) 538– 

1321; beth_wheeler@nps.gov. 

Individuals in the United States who are 

deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have 

a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, 

TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

Individuals outside the United States 

should use the relay services offered 

within their country to make 

international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Purpose and Management Authority for 

the Recreation Area 

The Chattahoochee River is one of the 

oldest and most stable river channels in 

North America. It begins as a tiny 

stream in northern Georgia, passes 

through the suburbs north of Atlanta, 

and flows 430 miles to its confluence 

with the Flint River at the Florida 

border. In 1978, the United States 

Congress established Chattahoochee 

River National Recreation Area by 

finding that the values of a 48-mile 

segment of the river and its adjoining 

lands in the State of Georgia, from 

Buford Dam downstream to Peachtree 

Creek, are of special national 

significance and ‘‘should be preserved 

and protected from developments and 

uses which would substantially impair 

or destroy them.’’ 16 U.S.C. 460ii. 

Congress stated that the Recreational 

Area shall consist of ‘‘the river and its 

bed together with the lands, waters, and 

interests therein.’’ 16 U.S.C. 460ii. 

In 1984, Congress amended the 

Recreation Area’s enabling legislation 

by stating that the corridor located 

within 2,000 feet of each bank along the 

48-mile river segment was ‘‘an area of 

national concern.’’ This amendment 

increased the size of the Recreation Area 

from 6,300 acres to 6,800 acres. A 

subsequent amendment, passed in 1999, 

expanded the authorized boundary of 

the Recreation Area to include an 

additional 3,200 acres and provided 

funding to support the acquisition of 

priority land-based linear corridors to 

link existing units of the Recreation 

Area and protect other open spaces of 

the Chattahoochee River corridor. 

The National Park Service (NPS) 

manages the Recreational Area as a unit 

of the National Park System. In addition 

to the enabling legislation described 

above, the NPS manages the Recreation 

Area pursuant to the NPS Organic Act 

of 1916, which gives the NPS broad 

authority to regulate the use of the lands 

and waters within System units. See 54 

U.S.C. 100101; 100751(a). 

Bicycle Use in the Recreation Area 

The Recreation Area is located within 

the Atlanta metropolitan area and is a 

valuable outdoor recreation resource for 

local residents as well as visitors from 

the rest of the United States and around 

the world. The Recreation Area’s 48- 

mile stretch of river and 15 land units 

provide an ecological oasis within a 

densely populated region and contain 

more than 950 species of plants and a 

diverse assemblage of wildlife. Its green 

space and extensive trail network offer 

abundant opportunities for visitors to 

explore the riverbanks, historic sites, 

rolling forests, grassy meadows, and 

rocky bluffs. The clear, cold, and slowmoving river supports a variety of 

water-based recreational activities such 

as floating, paddling, rafting, boating, 

wading, and fishing. 

Bicycling is a popular form of 

recreation in and around the Recreation 

Area. Bicycles are allowed on roads and 

in parking areas that are open to public 

motor vehicle traffic; on an 

administrative road in the Cochran 

Shoals unit, the Fitness Loop, which 

also serves as a part of the trail system; 

and on a subset of trails. The total trail 

system is extensive, containing 

approximately 67 miles of designated 

trails in 12 of the 15 land units in the 

Recreation Area. Bicycle use occurs on 

approximately 11.6 miles of multi-use 

trails in the Vickery Creek, Gold Branch, 

Cochran Shoals, and Palisades units. 

Bicycle routes are designated in special 

regulations for the Recreation Area at 36 

CFR 7.90 and in the Superintendent’s 

compendium, which is a written 

compilation of designations, closures, 

permit requirements and visitor use 

restrictions imposed under the 

discretionary authority of the 

Superintendent, as required by 36 CFR 

1.7(b). The Superintendent’s 

compendium is available on the 

Recreation Area’s website (https://

www.nps.gov/chat). 

Electric bicycles, which are defined in 

NPS regulations as two- or threewheeled cycles with fully operable 

pedals and electric motors of not more 

than 750 watts that meet the 

requirements of one of three classes (36 

CFR 1.4), are allowed in the Recreation 

Area where traditional bicycles are 

allowed. 

Comprehensive Trails Management Plan 

and Environmental Assessment 

In March 2021, the NPS published 

and sought public input on a 

Preliminary Trails Management Plan to 

help inform the development of the 

CTMP/EA and guide the development of 

a more cohesive trail system within the 

Recreation Area. Following the public 

scoping period, in April 2022, the NPS 

published the CTMP/EA which analyzes 

the potential environmental impacts of 

no-action and action alternatives. Under 

the action alternative, which is the 

NPS’s preferred alternative, the total 

mileage of designated trails available for 

public use in the Recreation Area would 

increase substantially, and the NPS 

would improve the quality and 

sustainability of the trails to better serve 

visitors and achieve greater resource 

stewardship. The NPS would add 

approximately 32 miles of trails to the 


khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with RULES